A Minnesota man who posed as a police officer and knocked on lawmakers' doors in the middle of the night, killing the top Democrat in the state House and her husband and wounding a state senator and his wife, pleaded guilty to murder on Thursday so that federal prosecutors would not seek the death penalty.

Vance Boelter changes plea in murders of Melissa and Mark Hortman as prosecutors agree not to pursue death penalty

The man charged in the political assassinations of the top Democrat in the Minnesota house and her husband, as well as the non-fatal shootings of a state senator and his wife, pleaded guilty in federal court on Thursday after prosecutors said they would not seek the death penalty.

Vance Boelter was charged with murdering Melissa Hortman, the Minnesota house speaker, and her husband, Mark Hortman, and with shooting state senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette Hoffman. Boelter came to their doors in the early hours of 14 June 2025, disguised as a police officer and driving a fake squad car.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: Steven Garcia/NurPhoto/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Steven Garcia/NurPhoto/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Steven Garcia/NurPhoto/Shutterstock

The man accused of killing the former Minnesota state House Speaker will not face the death penalty under the terms of a proposed plea agreement, according to U.S. attorneys prosecuting the case. On Thursday, Vance Boelter pleaded guilty to all federal charges related to the June shooting and signed a plea deal that will render…

The man accused of killing the former Minnesota state House Speaker will not face the death penalty under the terms of a proposed plea agreement, according to U.S. attorneys prosecuting the case. On Thursday, Vance Boelter pleaded guilty to all federal charges related to the June shooting and signed a plea deal that will render…

U.S. prosecutors said Wednesday they will not seek the death penalty as part of a plea agreement with the man charged in the political assassinations of the top Democrat in the Minnesota House along with her husband, as well as the attempted murders of a state senator and his wife.

Some fans and participants hoping to enter the United States for the World Cup have complained that restrictive immigration rules have presented a roadblock.

© Ahmad Al-Rubaye/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Vice President JD Vance is pressing federal prosecutors to investigate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and state Attorney General Keith Ellison over allegations they failed to stop widespread social services fraud.

House report alleged governor and state attorney general knew of ‘widespread taxpayer fraud’ in social programs

• US politics live – latest updates

The US vice-president, JD Vance, asked the Department of Justice to investigate Tim Walz, his rival in the 2024 election, after a congressional report renewed allegations of inaction and retaliation over fraud schemes in Minnesota.

In the Trump administration’s latest broadside against the midwestern state and its political leaders, Vance referred Walz, its Democratic governor, and Keith Ellison, its Democratic attorney general, for investigation.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

© Photograph: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

© Photograph: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Rights groups and some locals worry that program to ‘track illicit activity’ could become a data collection project

The Great Lakes have rarely ever been considered a hotbed of illicit drug activity or center for illegal immigration.

But that hasn’t stopped US government agencies and the company behind surveillance sailing drones from treating the region as such. The US Coast Guard recently announced it has launched an armada of at least six sailing drones in the Great Lakes this summer in an attempt to, in part, “track illicit activity”.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: James Brooks/AP

© Photograph: James Brooks/AP

© Photograph: James Brooks/AP